MARVEL PREMIERE #16

”HEART OF THE DRAGON!”
Writer: Len Wein | Inker: Dick Giordano
Colorist: Glynis Wein | Letterer: L.P. Gregory | Co-Plotter/Editor: Roy Thomas
And introducing the pulse-pounding penciling of Larry Hama!

You are Iron Fist -- and the odors that assault your tender nostrils this night fill you with a growing feeling of revulsion.

You have heard many stories of this strange place called New York -- this city that is hardly more than a memory to you --

-- And, unfortunately, it seems that all the tales are true.

The Plot: In a New York alleyway, Iron Fist is assaulted by a group of thugs out to claim a $10,000 reward on his head. As he fights them, Iron Fist remembers his decade in K’un L’un, where he was trained in the martial arts by Lei Kung the Thunderer. In the present, he defeats the thugs and sends them packing.

Iron Fist’s flashback continues as he recalls challenging a dragon called Shou-Lao the Undying. Upon defeating the creature, Danny Rand was branded with the emblem of a dragon on his chest and then, within Shou-Lao’s cavern, he sank his hands into a smoldering brazier and gained the power of the Iron Fist.

In the present, Iron Fist is attacked by a mercenary named Scythe. During their duel he flashes back to a week ago, after completing his trials. Yu-Ti offered him the fruit of the Tree of Immortality and the chance to live forever in K’un L’un, but Danny chose instead to leave the hidden city -- thus preventing him from ever returning -- in order to return to civilization for vengeance on his father’s killer, Harold Meachum.

In the present, Iron Fist defeats Scythe and learns that the bounty was placed upon him by Meachum himself. Iron Fist heads for Meachum’s skyscraper headquarters for revenge.

Continuity Notes: Iron Fist’s origin continues, revealing how he gained his power. We also see the first appearance of his mentor, Lei-Kung the Thunderer.

It is established that K’un L'un exists in another realm and appears in our reality only one day every ten years. The previous two such occurrences were the day Danny Rand arrived in the city and the day he left.

Yu-Ti reveals to Danny that his father, Wendell Rand, was Yu-Ti’s brother.

The “Stan Lee presents…” box on page one, as well as narration on the story's final page, refer to Iron Fist as a “Living Weapon”, a moniker which has stuck with him to this day.

My Thoughts: For reasons unknown, Iron Fist’s creators, Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, only stuck around for the first issue (though we at least still have Kane on cover duty, as will remain the case for some time). Thus, aside from inker Dick Giordano, we have a brand new creative team for our hero’s second outing, and it's a step upward in one respect but backward in the other.

First, on the artistic front, we have young Larry Hama. Hama, who would go on to become the godfather of G.I. JOE and the longest-running writer of Wolverine’s solo series, is not a bad artist. His work here is just very workmanlike. He gives us some interesting angles on the fight scenes, but that's about it. Though, to be fair, almost anyone is going to look less-than-stellar when they follow Gil Kane on a book.

I do have to mention, though, that Hama provides Lei-Kung with an emblem on his chest harness that bears a striking resemblance to the Arashikage clan tattoo worn by Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow in G.I. JOE, which is pretty cool.

The writing, on the other hand, enjoys a much-appreciated uptick in quality thanks to Len Wein. Gone is Roy Thomas’s stomach-turningly melodramatic poetry. In its place is some good old-fashioned standard-issue superhero bombasticism. Wein retains the unique second-person narration, but his prose is way more appealing to me.

Unfortunately, though the scripting is leaps and bounds better than the previous installment, the plot is just as terribly paced. Once again, Iron Fist spends the entirety of the present in one location -- this time an alleyway in New York -- and fights two sets of enemies, while entertaining intermittent flashbacks. With all due apologies to all involved, this is just a terrible way to write a comic and I'm honestly surprised these two issues were successful enough to keep the serial going.

Though part of this may just be me. I really don't care about Iron Fist’s origin, and I certainly don't need lengthy flashbacks filling it in. Just tell me his deal through a page of exposition and get on with it. K’un L’un is boring. Danny Rand’s childhood is boring. I came into this for some chaotic kung-fu action in the Mighty Marvel Manner; can we get on with it, already?

Though the more I think about it, the more I believe today’s entire generation of “decompressionist” writers were influenced by the opening IRON FIST chapters. Stan Lee would've told us Iron Fist’s entire origin and showed us his revenge on Meachum in one single issue -- maybe even just in a ten or twelve-page story! But here we are, two issues in, and Iron Fist has engaged in four fights, visited two locations, and has yet to lay eyes on Meachum. It's maddening.